The 32-year-old man even updated his Facebook status to "widowed" before carrying out the plan.

A man in Florida allegedly rigged the front door of his house with wiring attached to a car battery to electrocute his estranged pregnant wife. According to reports, Michael Scott Wilson even updated his Facebook with "widowed" before he carried out his failed plan.

He used two chairs, a child's high chair, blue tape, a shower-type rod, electrical cords, wiring and a car battery charger with clamps to rig the deadbolt lock and the door handle of his Palm Coast home. His plan, which could have easily killed or paralysed his wife, was to have her insert the house key and then hold the handle.

"This is one of the most bizarre domestic violence cases I have seen in my career," Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said, referring to Wilson's plan.

However, the accused was arrested on Thursday, 28 December, before he could carry out the plan. He was charged with attempted aggravated battery on a pregnant woman and grand theft of a firearm – which belonged to his wife's father.

Staly added that not only "did this man try to electrocute his wife, but he could have injured a deputy or any person attempting to enter this residence. Thankfully this man was found and taken into custody before he could cause the harm he intended".

The Dayton Beach News Journal reported that the 32-year-old was held after his wife's stepfather, Jon Flositz, became suspicious of him. The woman had apparently told her stepfather that Wilson had warned her to not let a child touch the door.

Deputies believe that Wilson wanted to harm his wife because she got him hospitalised for a mental evaluation without his consent.

The woman, whose identity has not been disclosed, told the authorities that a few months ago, her husband fell but refused to seek medical treatment. "Up until that point, (Wilson) seemed to be a normal person" she added.

He was later admitted in a hospital under Florida's Baker Act, which allows for someone to be involuntarily taken into custody for mental evaluation. While he was in hospital, his wife obtained a revolver from her stepfather and installed two smart cameras at their home so that she could track Wilson if he ever came back.

The woman said that Wilson later apologised to her for his behaviour, but when she asked him to join her in Knoxville, Tennessee, for a family holiday, he refused and stayed there only for a day.

After a few days, Wilson's wife allegedly got a notification on her phone that the cameras at the home have been disconnected. She told the deputies that the accused had also made comments that made her believe that he had visited the home during her absence. He had allegedly asked her to use "the front door of the home because the garage door isn't going to open", the Dayton Beach News Journal reported.

Wilson was arrested in Knoxville and is being held on a $150,000 (£111,000) bond. It is not clear if he has an attorney.

In a recent Facebook post, Wilson had apparently added a bizarre image that showed him holding two handguns where he boasted that he "is the guy that your father warned you about". The page also lists him as "widowed".